Alabama 744 articles

Got raw milk? It’s a slogan used by Texas-based K-Bar dairy, which is currently in the limelight for illnesses spanning seven states linked to Brucella bacteria found in its raw milk, which had not undergone pasteurization to kill germs. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Texas State Department of Health Services have received reports of people who drank K-Bar’s milk and have symptoms of brucellosis in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Ohio, North Dakota, Tennessee and Texas, according to a CDC press release. “It’s very important for people who drank raw milk from this dairy to seek treatment ... Read More

The $2.5 million judgment handed down by a Philadelphia jury against Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Pharmaceuticals over allegations that its antipsychotic Risperdal caused a disfiguring injury to an adolescent boy will stand despite the drug maker’s request for a new trial. Judge Ramy Djerassi of the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas told Janssen the ruling in the first Risperdal side effects lawsuit to go to trial will stand. The bellwether trial involved the case of now-22-year-old Adam Pledger who developed abnormal breast tissue – a condition known as gynecomastia- after taking Risperdal. The verdict in that case was handed ... Read More

Galena Biopharma Inc., was ordered to pay more than $7.55 million to resolve allegations that it paid kickbacks to doctors to prescribe its potent fentanyl-based drug Abstral, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced. Abstral is a powerful opioid that is only approved for breakthrough pain in cancer patients 18 years of age and older who are already tolerant to opioid therapy for their underlying persistent cancer pain. It is contraindicated for patients who are not already tolerant to opioids because life-threatening respiratory depression and death can result at any dose in patients not on a chronic regimen of opioids. For this ... Read More

OriGen Biomedical is recalling two lots of its VV28F Reinforced Dual Lumen ECMO Catheters because the clear extension tube may separate from the hub that it is inserted in, which could cause damage or impairment to the patient if there is not immediate intervention. To date, one adverse event related to these recalled products has been reported. The VV28F Reinforced Dual Lumen ECMO Catheters that fall under the recall include lot number N18487, with the manufacture date of Aug. 14, 2014, and the expiration date of Aug. 30, 2018; and the not number 18487-1, with the manufacture date of April ... Read More

A worker at a plant nursery in Mobile, Alabama was airlifted to a hospital after a trench he was working in collapsed on top of him and buried him under tons of dirt. The man later died of his injuries. According to Mobile’s WPMI, the trench collapse occurred around 11:30 Monday morning at Flowerwood Nursery in Mobile. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) sent officials there to investigate the circumstances of the fatal accident. Officials said workers at the nursery were digging a trench to lay water lines when the walls of the trench caved in on one of ... Read More

A whistleblower lawsuit has helped the U.S. government recover more than $7.55 million from a California-based drugmaker accused of contributing to the nation’s opioid crisis by paying kickbacks to doctors who prescribe its potent fentanyl-based painkiller Abstral. “Given the dangers associated with opioids such as Abstral, it is imperative that prescriptions be based on a patient’s medical need rather than a doctor’s financial interests,” acting Assistant Attorney General Chad Readler said in a statement Friday. The settlement resolves a lawsuit filed against California-based Galena Biopharma Inc. by Lynne Dougherty under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, which allows private ... Read More

A Regional Emergency Declaration issued by federal officials in advance of Hurricane Irma Sept. 7 remains in place for several states and territories, loosening regulations for commercial truck drivers providing relief throughout the areas affected by the storm. Federal Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao directed the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to implement the emergency declaration in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The emergency declaration came while a previous emergency declaration covering much of the same area after Hurricane Harvey remained in effect and while Hurricane Jose barrels toward ... Read More

Country Fresh Orlando is recalling 5,999 cases of various diced vegetables because the products may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy individuals may experience short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea. Listeria infection can also cause miscarriages and stillbirths in pregnant women. The diced vegetables include Fajita Blend, Stir Fry Vegetable, and Vegetable Kabob, distributed to Southeastern Grocers in Florida; Green Pepper Diced distributed to Southeastern Grocers in Florida and ... Read More

An Alabama construction company picked by the Trump Administration as one of four firms to work on a Mexico border wall prototype paid more than $3 million to settle a U.S. Justice Department criminal investigation into whether it committed fraud against taxpayers with its work under another government contract in 2012. According to Politico, Caddell Construction Company Inc., a major federal government construction contractor, admitted no wrongdoing in that case of alleged fraud, but it paid $2 million to enter an agreement in which the federal government allowed it to escape prosecution in exchange for unspecified cooperation with the government ... Read More

Four Alabama cities rank among the top 15 cities with the highest rate of opioid abuse in the U.S. The list was compiled by health care information company Castlight Health, which used anonymous data on medical and pharmacy claims to determine which parts of the U.S. were hardest hit by the opioid crisis. The results shed a grim light on Alabama, one of the states where physicians aren’t required to check a database before writing a prescription for opioids, and other portions of the South. Nearly a third of all opioid prescriptions are abused, which translates to higher health costs ... Read More